the seventeenth amendment , the senator would not be elected by the legislature , but by popular vote . in the democratic primary beck ##ham defeated augustus o . stanley , a 12 @ - @ year veteran congressman . the republican nominee was former governor augustus e . wills ##on . bo ##lster ##ed by his support of president woodrow wilson , beck ##ham won the election by 32 @ , @ 000 votes . beck ##ham served as chairman of the senate committee on expenditures in the department of labor from 1915 to 1917 and on the senate committee on military affairs . in the latter position he was influential in securing two large military training posts for kentucky , camp zachary taylor and fort knox
the seventeenth amendment, the senator would not be elected by the legislature, but by popular vote. in the democratic primary beckham defeated augustus o. stanley, a 12 @ - @ year veteran congressman. the republican nominee was former governor augustus e. willson. bolstered by his support of president woodrow wilson, beckham won the election by 32 @, @ 000 votes. beckham served as chairman of the senate committee on expenditures in the department of labor from 1915 to 1917 and on the senate committee on military affairs. in the latter position he was influential in securing two large military training posts for kentucky, camp zachary taylor and fort knox